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| US Soldier Suicides Outnumber Combat Deaths In 2012 |
| 2012-12-29 |
| American soldier suicides continue to outnumber combat-related deaths in 2012, and the trajectory for soldier suicides continues to get worse. Statistics released by the Department of the Army show that through November potentially 303 active-duty, Reserve and National Guard soldiers committed suicide. As of Dec. 7, Stars and Stripes reports that 212 soldiers have died in combat-related deaths in Afghanistan. The Army set a grim new record of 177 potential active-duty cases with 2012 coming to a close on Tuesday – 64 of these cases remain under investigation, 113 have been confirmed. In June of this year, The Pentagon reported there had been at least 154 suicides among active-duty troops – a rate of nearly one each day. The number of suicides continues to increase despite numerous new training and awareness programs put into effect in the past few years. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #9 An Inquiry |
| Posted by: newc 2012-12-29 16:17 |
| #8 According to Wiki for 2010, the US is tenth in gun-related deaths but 60% of those are suicides. Guess the UN should address this--a rash of self-induced murders is sweeping Mexico and Brazil.... |
| Posted by: Kojo Wholuse5660 2012-12-29 11:49 |
| #7 Whoever wrote this article needs to retake basic math: 212 US KIA this year 177 potential suicides this year. Iblis is on to something. Casualties are way down. Apparently has nothing to do with combat: About 53 percent of those who died by suicide in the military in 2011, the most recent year for which data is available, had no history of deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan, according to the Defense Department. And nearly 85 percent of military members who took their lives had no direct combat history, meaning they may have been deployed but not seen action. |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2012-12-29 11:49 |
| #6 First thought is that combat deaths are way down. Second thought is impossible ROE's causing problems. |
| Posted by: Iblis 2012-12-29 11:22 |
| #5 Some stuff on suicides for whatever it is worth: Suicide rates by country and U.S. suicide rates. I wondered if the rate for active duty military and Reserve and National Guard soldiers was higher than the civilian population. A concern is that the active duty military rates seem to be increasing from year to year. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2012-12-29 09:58 |
| #4 Another fact necessary to understand this item is the previously calculated incidences of suicide among active-duty Reserve and NG soldiers, expressed as # suicides/total population. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2012-12-29 08:57 |
| #3 How does this compare with the same civilian cohort of same sex/age? Come on, the |
| Posted by: P2Kontheroad 2012-12-29 08:39 |
| #2 Suicide notes are often left. What did the notes say? What do toxicology reports reveal? Who was his or her "battle buddy" and what did they report? Lap top e-mails? Sites visited? Statistics do nothing. Results of investigations and recommendations might point to common contributing factors and enable mitigation measures. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-12-29 08:16 |
| #1 How does this compare with the same civilian cohort of same sex/age? |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2012-12-29 07:37 |